Collaborating with community scientists to monitor bees

There are two groups at local parks in San Diego that monitor the bees and flowering plants along existing trails year-round. This offers an incredible glimpse into year-round changes in the bee community that are often lost by researchers whose busy field schedules often align with the academic year. I aid in identifying the observations posted to iNaturalist for both projects, and I am one of the lead organizers (along side a wonderful crew!) for The WannaBees.

The WannaBees 
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve  ​(Visit our website!)

Inspired by The Beeple, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve started a similar monitoring project in collaboration with the Docent Society in 2022 naming themselves "The WannaBees." I help this group by keeping the data collection processes up to date, preparing annual reports, applying for permits to maintain the project, sharing information about bees, and identifying the observations on iNaturalist. 

This park has over 1 million visitors a year. All of the monitoring routes are along busy trails, offering the WannaBees the opportunity to talk with park visitors about native bees and their importance. In the photo above, you can see Dr. Gabriele Wienhausen showing park visitors how and where to find bees.

We have also designed a booklet that features the most commonly encountered bees at the park and identifying features about them.

​The Beeple

​Cabrillo National Monument

After Patricia Simpson spotted a bee previously only known to San Clemente Island at Cabrillo National Monument, the project started to track bees year-round at the monument. This project turned into a paid internship led by Dr. Ashley Kim . I aid this group by identifying their iNaturalist observations and specimens collected as part of the internship project.

​Learn more about how Patricia Simpson and James Hung started this project at this Story Board.